Quinlan's Folly
by Lonestarr
Summary: What a horrible thing it is to know regret.


Disclaimer: "Jimmy Neutron" belongs to John A. Davis and Nickelodeon. Don't mind me. I'm just passing through.

Ah, there's nothing like a spring day at Retroville High. The sun is shining. The birds are singing…

"_Move it or lose it, Nerdtron!"_

And there's a sound I didn't need to hear this morning.

"_I'm moving as fast as I can!"_

Every day, I pass by their lockers, which happen to be together - I can't, for the life of me, figure out why - and every day, I hear something like this.

Every day, I stand off to the side and watch them go through this…this relationship. I'm surprised to even be using that word. That would be a means of dignifying it, and that's just not right.

Every day, I think to myself, 'How could I have let this happen?'.

Oh, great. I've been spotted. The girl runs toward me, a fist waving. "Take a picture, beauty queen. It won't punch you in the face." One would think that, what with becoming a young woman and all, she'd leave childish things like threats in the past. The nervous look on his face as he is dragged away is practically burned into my brain.

And there _she_ goes, as charming as ever.

Oh, Jimmy, what did I do to you?

XxXxXxXxX

Finally, I'm home. It gets so frustrating at school, sometimes. It's not the classes; I'm a pretty good student. It's just that the guys are constantly flirting with me. Why? They have educations to get just like me.

I drop my backpack near the door and walk to the kitchen.

"Oh, how was school, today, honey?"

Mom. Her voice is full of concern and sweetness. Part of me is glad that she's around whenever I need her and part of me is upset that she's a stay-at-home parent. Shouldn't she be out there making a difference, or, at the very least, making her own wages?

I pull out a chair and sit at the table. "The usual. Classes and more classes." I sigh and rest my head on my folded arms. "Also…there's this boy."

"Ooh. A boy. Is he cute?"

"Depends on what you mean by cute." Now, I seem to get prettier every year, but, despite that, I've never been too hung up on looks; mine or anyone else's. I admit that Jimmy's cute in his own goofy way. Those wide eyes and that 'do which gravity has nothing on. Even so, he's so sweet.

"Then you ought to bring him over sometime; invite him for dinner."

I tug at my sleeve. "Well, the thing of it is that he's taken."

"Oh. Too bad. Well, you should get started on your homework."

I get up from the chair. "You're right."

XxXxXxXxX

Let's see. Algebra, History…Literature. That sounds good. The second act of…okay, this has to be a joke of some kind. That, or a freaky coincidence.

'Read the second act of "MacBeth".'

I remember that play back in elementary school. It was…weird, to say the least, but interesting. What I remember mainly are encouraging Jimmy to go on and kissing him…and the school ending up on a snowy peak. Well, nobody's perfect.

Better get started. This homework won't do itself.

XxXxXxXxX

The scene plays out in my head almost every night, like a bad movie that people keep going to see. A botched magic trick sucked us into another dimension. Cindy gets to ranting about how Jimmy learned magic to impress me. I take her aside. I tell her about the whole thing between her and Jimmy, which she denies. Then, the words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop myself:

'He's all yours.'

The words reverberate through my mind. Looking back, I might have said it to stop her from complaining, but I've seen how she treats him. Everyone has seen it, and yet, they support them. She constantly insults him and that's somehow a sign of love? I must've missed some re-definition of the concept along the way.

Sadly, I got caught up in it, too. A moment of weakness, I'd say. I guess it wouldn't matter so much were it not for the fact that…I really do like him.

I'll have plenty of time to think about this in the morning. A girl needs her rest, after all.

XxXxXxXxX

I just need to get my books for my next class…oh, boy. There he is, clutching a hall pass in his hand.

I flag him down. "Oh. Hey, Jimmy. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. Just on my way to the bathroom. I'm not sure why, though. I can't believe how…unhygienic they are."

I wince a little. "Sorry I asked. What class were you in?"

"AP Biology." I notice the strained tone in his voice.

"Rough class?"

"Oh, no. The class is fine, if a little unchallenging. It's just…Cindy. We got into an argument about the theories of quantum mechanics. Mrs. Pelton had to separate us."

How very interesting. "That's too bad."

He rubs the back of his head. "I don't know. Maybe she's right this time."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Jimmy." Besides, isn't that _her_ job? "To be honest, I don't know what you see in her." Oh, there I go again; speaking without thinking. Wait. Why should I be worried? The truth will set you free.

Jimmy smiles at me. "I want to let you in on something, Betty."

"Beth." A little pretentious, I know, but 'Betty' is so middle school.

"Pardon?"

I giggled a bit. "Call me Beth."

I can imagine him thinking, 'Beth. Beth Quinlan.' "Okay, Beth. There are times when I'm not sure what I see in her, either. She's used to having things a certain way…"

The moment he said that, I wasn't sure, but I had a strong feeling. "Her way."

"Yes. But then, things straighten out and she's like a different person." He sighed deeply. "She actually cares about things."

I snort to myself. I don't mean to sound rude, but I can't help it. It's not like I've seen her any other way but nasty. I look at him and I just want to grab him and kiss him and tell him that Cindy will never love him like I do and…oh, to hell with it.

I grab his arms and kiss him on the lips. He tries to push me away. I can't say I blame him. After a few moments, he seems to melt into me, almost like he's enjoying it.

I break away. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

The glazed over look in his eyes fades away. "Beth, what were you thinking? What if somebody saw you? What if Cindy saw you?"

She really put a spell on him. And so what if she saw me? What's she going to do, fight me? Now, I don't believe in violence, but, for her, I'm willing to throw a punch.

I look around the hall. "The coast is clear."

"_Nerdtron!"_

At least it was. Here she comes again, scowling like there's no tomorrow.

"Where have you been? You said you were going to the bathroom."

"I had to wash my hands, Cindy." He's not bothered by her demanding tone. According to the law of averages, _someone _is sure not to mind.

"And what? Miss America here is the official hand-dryer?"

Jimmy folds his hands. "She happened to be on the way from the bathroom. Is it a crime to talk to her?"

Cindy glares at me. I give her a polite wave, but deep down, the feelings are mutual.

"Of course not…but that ought to change, don't you think?" I see her take his hand and stomp off.

Down the hall, I hear mutterings of 'I can't leave you alone for five flipping seconds without some'… I'd rather not repeat the rest of it.

Jimmy looks back at me…and smiles. Not a 'hey, that's life' kind of smile, which I was kind of expecting, but one that says to me, 'thanks for caring'. I guess I did get through to him.

Don't worry, Jimmy Neutron. I won't give up on you.

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A/N: A story like this is all too rare. If nothing else, I wanted to make it not as rare.

Thanks for reading and reviewing and have a nice day.


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